Chapter Fifteen: Deception

The three demon beasts each swallowed hungrily, their focus entirely on the flesh beside them. Suddenly, Six-Ugly's body flickered, reminiscent of the unstable flicker of a television screen. Yet in the next instant, its posture and expression were entirely unchanged from before; only Six-Ugly itself was aware of the real difference. Almost simultaneously, the three other demon beasts sensed a shift in the demonic energy within the cage. But when they turned, they saw the same frail monkey as before, and, puzzled, returned their attention to their bloody meal.

Unnoticed, Six-Ugly’s body had already begun to slowly recover, gradually repairing its wounds bit by bit...

The next day, before dawn, the camp was already fully awake. Over forty elite soldiers, led by Bai Li Shuyi and Qi Jian, accompanied the monk Hu on a trek towards the inner reaches of Meishan. Gongyang Cuo and Yi Bao, having obtained the imitation of the Threefold Red Sand, followed in high spirits.

The leopard demon sensed the change of atmosphere in the camp. It opened its eyes slightly, glanced around, then fixed its gaze on the monkey in the corner. Licking its lips with its tongue, it closed its eyes again in satisfaction, conserving its strength, and soon began to snore softly.

At that moment, Six-Ugly’s eyes slowly opened. It smiled coldly, then began to gently move its bound paws and feet, carefully feeling the extent of its recovered strength...

After breakfast, Kan Gan, now in charge of all camp affairs, began organizing the men. He assembled everyone to assign sentries, both covert and overt, organized watch rotations, and checked the food stores. Afterwards, he proceeded to inspect the city walls, bows and crossbows, the wounded, medicinal herbs—no detail was overlooked.

Kan Gan understood well that the addition of the monk Hu greatly increased their chances of a successful hunt. His role now was not to go out and capture demons, but to hold the camp securely. So long as the camp remained safe, his merit would be considerable. Thus, he allocated his men accordingly. The most crucial element in all of this, however, lay with the captured demon beasts.

After inspecting all other matters, Kan Gan led six squad leaders to the prison cages for a tour, immediately issuing orders to correct any deficiencies he found.

“There’s too much spoiled meat here. If the demon beasts fall ill from eating this, what then?” Kan Gan pointed at the piles of scraps and bones, instructing the guards, “Have this cleaned up. Discard anything rotten. As for the rest, cook it in broth before feeding it to them. That will suffice.”

This order instantly increased the workload for the guards. The squad leader cursed inwardly but maintained a respectful face. “Yes, sir. From now on, we’ll only feed them meat boiled in hot broth. But about disposing of the rest…” He hesitated. “For now, since we’re not leaving the camp to hunt, it’s manageable, but if this goes on, all the meat will spoil. What should we do then?”

“Hmm, you make a fair point,” Kan Gan mused, then asked someone nearby, “Are there still wild animals to hunt in the mountains?”

“There are! Not many, but we can still catch some.”

“Very well. Starting tomorrow, send three to five men out to hunt daily, regardless of the yield. Salt and preserve everything. When the scraps here spoil, feed them to the demon beasts. If that’s still not enough, use the dried meat—but remember, these beasts are the result of our brothers’ blood and sweat. Guard them well. If any die or go missing, none of you will return.”

Hearing the threat in Kan Gan’s words, the guards shuddered in unison and replied, “Yes, sir!”

“Tell the night shift leader too, so he won’t lose his head and call me unjust!”

Kan Gan snorted coldly and moved on to the rabbit demon’s cage. After half a day’s rest, the rabbit was still weak but had opened its eyes and begun gnawing slowly on a pig leg. Seeing this, Kan Gan nodded and added, “This demon has just lost its life force—it's frail and may die easily. Tomorrow, supplement its diet with flesh near the demon cores. Feed it more carefully, and keep a close watch.”

“Yes, sir!” the squad leader and the students left by Yang Wen replied quickly.

Up ahead was the weasel demon’s cage. Even Kan Gan dared not approach closely; he observed from a distance and said, “This is a shape-shifting fiend—extremely dangerous. Never get too close. Feed it with a bamboo pole, once every two days, and never let it eat its fill. Remember that.”

“Of course, sir, we wouldn’t dare be careless,” the squad leader finally found an opportunity to speak and smiled obsequiously. “We all know how dangerous demon fiends are. We follow the society’s rules to the letter, not daring to slack off.”

“That’s good…”

As they spoke, the group reached Six-Ugly’s cage. Only now did Kan Gan notice the newly added demon beast. He paused, surprised. “Why is this demon held here?”

“Sir, it’s by the order of the Chief,” the squad leader replied hastily. “As for the reason, we don’t know and dare not ask.”

“The Chief’s order? How strange…” Kan Gan pondered for a moment. Though puzzled, he decided not to trouble the Chief over such a small matter. He nodded and emphasized, “This demon has only just unlocked its intelligence, much weaker than the other three in the cage. If a fight breaks out, it may not survive… But never mind, the Chief has his reasons. Just watch them carefully. If they fight, separate them immediately. Do not let this one die.”

“Yes, sir!”

“If it dies, you’ll be held responsible.”

Kan Gan tossed out this harsh statement and moved on, nearly causing the squad leader to faint with worry.

“Good heavens, how is that my fault?”

As the group’s footsteps faded, a rare smile appeared on Six-Ugly’s lips. Everything in the camp had unfolded just as it had hoped—the perfect opportunity it had longed for.

Thus, the day passed uneventfully. As night deepened, only a few were left on guard while the rest of the camp sank into dreams. The night shift squad leader, tempted by sleep, remembered Kan Gan’s stern warning and shivered, forcing himself to stay alert. He cursed inwardly, “Damn it! Who’s ever heard of such rules? How can we stop demon beasts from fighting? And why should I be blamed? If I weren’t afraid of him, I’d give that bastard a piece of my mind!”

At that moment, chaos erupted from one of the cages—a mix of low, suppressed roars and plaintive wails tumbled together, reaching the squad leader’s ears. Soon, the other cages were thrown into turmoil, as if all the demon beasts had been startled awake.

In an instant, the camp was in an uproar.

“Not good! Follow me!” the squad leader shouted, grabbing his whip and rushing out. The guards hurriedly seized torches and spears, following close behind.

The cages were in chaos, but the source of the roars was clear. The squad leader quickly located the commotion and hurried to the demonification cage. By torchlight, he saw the monkey, newly brought in that day, soaked in blood and curled in a corner, clutching a broken bone in its hand. Outside, the leopard beast was infuriated, dragging heavy shackles as it paced and roared, searching for a chance to attack!

The leopard’s face was smeared with blood, its expression savage and terrifying—ready to kill.

“No, they really have started fighting!”

The squad leader panicked, snapping his whip across the leopard’s back with a crack, drawing blood and splitting its flesh. The leopard tried to retaliate, but the spears jabbed in, blow after blow, until finally, subdued by pain and assault, it whimpered and slunk back to the corner.

Only then did the guards breathe a sigh of relief. But as soon as they did, the monkey collapsed sideways, falling into the mud as blood trickled from its mouth…

“Something’s wrong! This demon must be badly hurt!” the squad leader cried. “Come, let’s pull it out and get it to the healer!”

“Sir, shouldn’t we inform the captain first?” someone asked. “If we remove a demon beast in the night without orders, we’ll be flogged.”

“Enough talk!” The squad leader slapped him hard, sending him reeling. “You think I need you to remind me? We get the demon to the healer first, then send for the captain. If we wait for orders and the beast dies, you’ll be to blame—and we’ll all pay with our lives!”

“Right, right, do as the squad leader says.” At this, the others fetched poles and sticks, carefully lifting the monkey out of the cage. One guard growled at the complainer, “Useless wretch—help out, or I’ll give you another slap.”

The chastised guard, nursing his sore cheek, had no choice but to obey, filled with regret.

Soon, the monkey was delivered to the healer’s hut. Outside, the camp was still in uproar, but the squad leader didn’t dare linger—he secured the monkey and rushed out to subdue the other demon beasts with whip and spear.

Remembering Kan Gan’s warning, the healer’s apprentice dared not delay. Seeing the monkey covered in blood, he immediately turned to grab hemostatic herbs from the table. The moment his back was turned, Six-Ugly, who seemed on the verge of death, instantly revived—where was the frailty of moments before?

A few flickers, and the shackles and chains binding its body fell loose… This too was a trick Six-Ugly had discovered after entering the gourd realm for spiritual medicine the previous night; when it returned, any chains or ropes on its body would slacken and drop off, instantly freeing it.

Hence today’s events.

The leopard did indeed plan to eat Six-Ugly; after hearing food was running short, it decided to wait until supplies were truly low before making its move—treating Six-Ugly like livestock. But what none of them expected was that the monkey struck first!

While the others slept, Six-Ugly viciously tore off several scabs, smearing fresh blood over itself, then crept noiselessly to the sleeping leopard and smashed a bone stick across its nose.

With a sickening crack, the leopard’s nose was broken, blood spurting out as it awoke with a scream. Spotting the attacker, it lunged. But Six-Ugly had already retreated to the corner, waving its club. Enraged, the leopard leaped again—only for Six-Ugly, faster still, to jump even higher and bring the club crashing down on its skull, leaving it dazed and nearly unconscious.

After two or three rounds like this, the leopard realized that this monkey, despite only just unlocking its intelligence, was shockingly strong and quick. Every time it attacked, it was met with a blow from the club. Helpless, yet unwilling to retreat, it circled warily—until the guards arrived.

But who could have guessed, after all this, the monkey would still faint dead away!

As the monkey was carried to the healer’s hut, the leopard’s mind began to stir, as if it sensed something was amiss…